I think it’s safe to say that most of humanity on the planet has grown tired of the billionaires who are the current custodians of the social media ecosystem. X is a hateful mess. The meta is about to become a hateful mess. TikTok is probably dying out. Social media isn’t that fun or useful anymore.
But celebrity executives and prominent former Twitter users are trying to “save social media from billionaire capture” by creating something called FreeOurFeeds. As reported by User Mag, these people want to build a new social media ecosystem that focuses on public interest rather than profit-driven incentives.
Some of the big names behind the project include actor Mark Ruffalo, actor/director Alex Winter, science fiction writer/journalist Cory Doctorow, and more. Brian Eno and Jimmy Wales (founders of Wikipedia) are involved. The plan includes building new social media apps on top of the existing AT protocol, a decentralized framework run by Bluesky. This ostensibly gives users greater control over their data, algorithms, and overall online experience.
“For the past 20 years, the world has allowed a handful of companies to dictate our entire social media experience. Now, for the first time, we have an opportunity to rewrite the rules. With Bluesky’s underlying technology, One AT protocol could offer new avenues for the social web,” said Sherif El-Sayed Ali, Executive Director of the Future of Technology Institute.
There are some big hurdles here. Blue Sky is still backed by venture capital, allowing the team to ensure that the underlying technology is “on an independent path, freeing the future of social media from the whims of a particular company or group of billionaires.” “It is necessary to raise funds.” ”
The Foundation also needs funding to begin building critical infrastructure. Overall, the organization hopes to raise $30 million over the next three years. We currently have a GoFundMe and are looking to raise an initial $4 million. The initial funds will be used to launch a public interest foundation that aims to make “Blue Sky’s underlying technology completely immune to billionaire capture.”
Before you dismiss this concept as just rich celebrities handing out donations, remember that even the richest celebrities don’t know the billionaires who control the levers of power. Please remember. Mark Ruffalo, perhaps the most notable member of the group, is worth around $30 million, while Alex Winter is worth $4 million.
Elon Musk’s worth has risen to $416 billion, and Mark Zuckerberg’s worth has risen to $220 billion. Musk is worth about 14,000 times more than Ruffalo. The difference between a million and a billion is quite profound.
